


Nerve

by Kathaka9



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien never went to school, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Angst and Feels, Dark, F/M, I Tried, Minor Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Poor Adrien, no miraculous, puns
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-03
Updated: 2017-04-14
Packaged: 2018-09-28 01:47:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10064006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kathaka9/pseuds/Kathaka9
Summary: Are you a watcher or a player?In a heartbeat he clicked the player button and filled out the sign in process. He was now part of the game that had caused his life and no doubt many others lives to turn to hell. He was now a slave to the game, but he wouldn’t let it control him. He was determined that as soon as he had the chance he’d take down the entire game, all so nobody else would have to go through the same hell as him. @Chat_Noir has joined 27th January 2017Marinette angrily pulled out her phone and mashed the buttons until she pulled up the home screen of the game. “You want me to play so badly? Fine, I’ll play,” she yelled as she smashed her finger onto the player option. She didn’t even read the rules as she signed up. @Ladybug has joined Nerve on March 3rd 2017.Are you a watcher or a player?





	1. Are you a watcher or a player?

**Author's Note:**

> Hiya, this story was inspired by the movie Nerve, however it differs a lot from the story line of the movie so yeah. Ok enjoy the chapter, (there are mentions of character deaths this chapter)

Ever since his mother had mysteriously disappeared Adrien had become desperate to escape the now toxic life at the Agreste household. However, escaping a toxic lifestyle isn’t as black and white as the movies make it out to be. It’s not as simple as just grabbing a bag and running away. You actually need a plan. As much as he wanted to just up and leave he knew that it wasn’t that simple, he needed money so he could buy food and warmer clothes, he needed a place to go, none of which he would have if he left.

 

Then he found out about ‘Nerve.’ Nerve had seemingly been around for years but had somehow managed to avoid the public eye despite the trillions of people who played and watched it.

 

While the game sounded like the perfect way to make money in order to fund his escape, something about it seemed wrong to him. He pushed down the feeling and searched the game. When he found it he pulled it up onto the home screen that asked ‘are you a watcher or player?’ The mouse hovered over the player button before he clicked player.

 

**Rules**

 

  1. ****The game must not be reported to law enforcement****
  2. **If you fail or bail from a dare it's game over**
  3. **All dares must be recorded on the player's phone**



 

 

The first rule is what really made him doubt the game. It didn’t sit right with him that one of the rules was not to report the game to law enforcement because it just created more questions and fears in his head. The biggest one being why, why couldn’t the game be reported. If the game was just a simple dare game then surely the dares wouldn’t be so bad that they’d need to be reported, right?

 

He scrolled down to the bottom of the page in hope that it’d show when the game was created. Fortunately it did, the game had been created 3 years prior on the 9th of February. 3 years ago the whole thing had started. 

 

He opened a new tab and quickly googled the game. Google did not have much more information than the site did, but at least he now had something. The game had started off in Paris and had been created by someone who kept themselves anonymous, without so much as a screen name, who had never been seen by the public. Since it’s creation the game had spread worldwide, city by city, country by country until the entire world had been overcome by the game.

 

_ Who created Nerve? _ Adrien wrote onto a piece of paper that sat on his desktop. He sighed and clicked back to the games website. As he was in fact smart unlike what the public thought of him, given he was ‘just a model’ and society didn’t expect model’s to actually have brains, his fingers flew across the keyboard as he typed some code into the site. Within minutes he was viewing participants pages. The participants all had seemingly strange usernames.

 

_ Princess_Fragrance _ \-  _ Joined 23rd August 2016.  _ He clicked on the page and was immediately led to the final video that had been posted from the girl’s phone. It featured a girl dressed in black and pink with her skin painted green. Her hand was shaking as she held her phone out so that the watchers could see her full body. She was standing alone in a room with a closed window behind her holding a vial of a pink gas. 

 

“Here we go watchers,” she whispered as she smashed the vial on the ground. The room she was in quickly filled with the pink gas which Adrien guessed was perfume. She took a deep breath in, the camera shaking like mad. She put the camera down on a table so that it was facing her. With tears in her eyes she pulled a match out of her pocket and lit it. The recording then stopped. 

 

He searched through her page to see that the video had been posted in September and no content had been posted since then and the account been deactivated, the game being deemed as over for her. He knew what the reaction between the flame and perfume would’ve caused to happen, he just hoped that she had gotten out in time but judging by when she’d last been active and that her follower count had dropped dramatically since the dare he knew that she’d likely failed to make it out. He pushed down the anxiety welling up in his chest and clicked another account that showed up at random. 

 

_ StormyWeather- Joined 5th September 2014. _ He clicked on the last video that had been posted by her account and noted that it had been posted back in June 2015. The video began with a young girl dressed in a dark purple dress with pig tails that were striped light purple and black. Her phone was seemingly attached to the inside of an umbrella as the circular outside of the umbrella was caught by it. A gigantic fan stood behind her. She turned so that the fan was no longer in the shot and gave a thumbs up to the camera with a confident smile. Then she disappeared from the camera’s view in a blur of motion. A scream was heard off camera and a girl rushed over to it and picked it up. She didn’t give the same smile the other girl had given it, she just quickly fumbled to turn it off. After that video nothing had been posted on the girl’s account with the game also being deemed to be over along with the quick follower drop after the video.

 

The pattern continued as he dug deeper into the website's archives.

 

_ Dark_Cupid- Joined 14th February 2015, last active 14th February 2016. _

_ TheGamer- Joined 30th June 2014, last active 3rd July 2015. _

_ MrPigeon- Joined 3rd March 2014, last active 1st January 2017. _

_ TheEvillustrator- Joined 8th September 2016, last active 3rd January 2017. _

_ Stoneheart- Joined 9th May 2015, last active 4th April 2016. _

_ Horrificator- Joined 31st October 2016, last active 2nd November 2016. _

_ Puppeteer- Joined 19th November 2014, last active 24th December 2016. _

 

The list went on. Identity after identity, one dangerous dare after another. Every Time after the video had cut out or got stopped the person's follower count would drop dramatically and the game would be declared over for them. It was the final video that finally made him realize what was happening, it had been posted to an account dubbed  _ The_Peacock. _

 

He froze in shock when he clicked the person's video. In the video stood his mother dressed in a deep blue dress wearing a mask to cover her identity. He paused the screen and stared at her image in shock, his hand reached out to stroke the image before he pulled it back. He looked at the last active date and froze when he saw it. There was no doubt about it, it was the date she’d died, November 13th 2016, the day his life had turned to hell. He paused before he gathered his wits and clicked play on the video.

 

She was smiling at the camera and read out what her dare was, “all I have to do is jump? Please give me a challenge,” she joked to the screen. Despite her bright and cheerful smile Adrien could tell that she was in face terrified to do the dare. Despite the obvious fear that shone in her eyes the camera in her hand did not shake and was held perfectly steady. Somehow when she walked to the window of the building she was in she managed to do so without causing the camera to shake. She smiled at the camera before she jumped out the window, camera in hand. The view of the jump wasn’t caught very well by the phone but the aftermath certainly was. 

 

The phone lay discarded on the ground, still recording but pointed up at the sky. A loud gasp was heard in the background and a young woman appeared. She began to gasp for breath as she stared at something that was just out of the shot. “I’m going to get you help, just stay awake,” she said. 

 

A series of “oh shit” was heard from the woman as she frantically searched through her pockets and her bag until she managed to find her phone. “I need an ambulance ASAP,” she yelled into the phone. He heard shuffling before the woman yelled again, “you don’t understand this is a matter of life or death. There is a woman who is bleeding out in the middle of the street, I need an ambulance now!” She then noticed the phone that was still recording and shut it off, therefore shutting off the video. 

 

Adrien shut the webpage with tears in his eyes. Reality came crashing down on him as he realised what had happened, she’d died for that stupid game. He wanted to throw something or to scream, it was all the games fault that his mother had been taken away from him. He then realised that like the others her account had followed the same pattern. After the final dare the follower count had dropped and the game declared over, he then realised what had happened to the others. Like his mother they too had died.

 

He shakily picked up his phone and dialed 112. He had to report the game, damn the rules. It was taking people’s lives, it’d taken his mother’s life. The creator had to pay for what they’d done.

 

“112, what is your emergency?”

“I need to report a game,” he choked out.

“Kid this number is for emergencies only, a game is not an emergency.”

“It is though! You have to shut it down,” he frantically yelled into the phone.

The person on the other side of the phone sighed, “kid I’m going to let you off with a warning but please refrain from calling this number in the future unless there's a real emergency.”

“But there is!” 

Before he could say anything else he heard the telltale dial-tone that signified the end of the call. He threw the phone across the room in outrage which caused it to smash against the wall. The many computers on his wall suddenly went static before they all became clear at once and displayed one message.

 

‘ _ Snitches get stitches.’ _

 

That was all he could read before he suddenly blacked out. 

 

He woke up in a dark room with his head feeling fuzzy. The lights all switched on at once to reveal walls that had been coated with the words ‘Snitches get stitches’ written in red. God he hoped that it wasn’t blood. In the middle of the room was a TV that began to play a video.

 

“Hello Adrien, you broke the number one rule of Nerve, now you belong to us. Don’t try anything, we control everything about your life. If you try anything we will kill your family and friends, don’t test us.”

 

“What else is new, my life has always been controlled,” Adrien yelled into the empty room. He just wanted to get out of there, to wake up from the nightmare. 

 

“The only way out is to win. The only way you can save your friends and family is to play the game, do you accept?”

 

He spotted a phone resting on the top of the TV screen and walked over to it cautiously. He caught his reflection in the mirror and recoiled in horror. His green eyes were very different now, the sclera was now coloured lime green and the iris was a darker shade. He almost didn’t recognise them as his own given their unearthly nature. His vision had a hint of green to it now, which struck him as odd but he could still see colours clearly, it was sort of like someone had tried to put a green filter over his eyes. Other than the eyes there was one other thing that stood out about his appearance now. Very clearly stitched to the top of his head were a pair of black cat ears. He panicked when he say them and desperately clawed at them to get them off. They wouldn’t budge. He guessed that their dumb saying was true, snitches get stitches.

 

Panicked thoughts spiraled out of control in his mind. He couldn’t go home now, not looking like this. His father would flip, the public would flip, he would be even more of an outcast than he already felt. He would no longer be able to model, not that he minded that fact. He knew that his father would be less than accepting of the new addition to his appearance. He would be a freak. A freak. He couldn’t go home, not now, not ever.

 

He shook away his panic at the cat ears and picked up the phone. It was open to the Nerve home screen. In a heartbeat he clicked the player button and filled out the sign in process. He was now part of the game that had caused his life and no doubt many others lives to turn to hell. He was now a slave to the game, but he wouldn’t let it control him. He was determined that as soon as he had the chance he’d take down the entire game, all so nobody else would have to go through the same hell as him.

 

_ Chat_Noir has joined 27th January 2017 _

* * *

 

Ever since Alya had signed up for Nerve she’d been on her phone almost nonstop. Every five seconds she was checking her follower count and groaning that it wasn’t high enough. She would ask the Nerve-verse for the most outrageous dates just so she could gain a few more followers. So far Alya as  _ LadyWifi _ had gained 1 million followers on the site but apparently it still wasn’t enough. She kept grumbling about how it wasn’t enough, 1 million followers seemed like a lot of followers to Marinette though.

 

Alya had nonstop bugged Marinette about joining the site since she’d signed up as a player. She constantly went on about how Marinette was playing it too safe by refusing to join and how she was being ‘a wet blanket’ plus various other names that she would not repeat. Marinette still refused to join the game as something about it made her feel uneasy, perhaps it was the amount of friends she had who’d become absorbed in the game to the point where all they did was accept dates and watch their follower count. They were practically willing to accept any dare provided it would gain them either followers or money, it was crazy. 

 

Alya smiled at her as she gave her her phone. She knew what she was going to have to do, she sighed and set Alya’s camera to film mode and gave her a thumbs up. She had no clue what Alya’s dare was but could only watch as it was completed. Alya grabbed Nino by the wrist and pulled him to the front of the classroom. Their class stared at the couple in shock similar to the shock Nino had on his face as he stared at Alya. 

 

Just as he opened his mouth to say something she pulled him in for a kiss which caused the class to erupt in cheers. When Alya broke off the kiss the two of them stared at each other with reddened cheeks. Marinette laughed at her two friends interaction.

 

Alya ran up to the camera and gave it a mock salute, “stay connected,” she said before signaling her to shut off the camera. She complied with a laugh as she smiled at Alya.

 

“So you and Nino huh,” she said with a cheeky smile on her lips. Alya shoved her playfully, “shut up,” she said but the words held no heat as she couldn’t stop laughing as she spoke. 

 

Nino was still standing at the front of the classroom staring at Alya shell-shocked. He kept blinking his eyes as if he expected to wake up from some sort of dream. Finally Nino seemed to realise what had just happened and his blush increased tenfold. Alya winked at him as he returned to his seat. He sat down and immediately his phone came out, seconds later Alya got a text.

 

_ Wanna team up? _

 

If it was even possible her smile grew even bigger as she typed her response,  _ Absoloutely. _

 

The happy moment was instantly ruined when Chloe, or as she was better known on Nerve ‘ _ QueenBee.’  _ She thought that she was entitled to act like the world's biggest bitch just because she had the most followers in their class along with the fact that her father was the prime minister of Paris. Marinette quite honestly just wanted to put Chloe in her place but she couldn’t due to Chloe’s practical immunity from any and all confrontation. 

 

“Why look, if it isn’t trashinette,” Chloe sneered at her. Marinette shifted uncomfortably but refrained from responding. A response would only let her know that she’d gotten to her. Every time she talked Marinette’s hatred for her grew and she just wanted to punch the girl more and more. She still didn’t know what Chloe even had against her in the first place.

 

“The only girl in our class still not on Nerve,” Chloe continued much to her annoyance. “Why haven’t you joined it yet eh? Are you too much of a loser, a coward, a weakling? I bet that you’d fail the first dare, that is if you even accepted it in the first place.”

 

Marinette gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. She couldn’t believe Chloe’s words. She desperately wanted to prove Chloe wrong but she didn’t want to join the game just to spend ages completing pointless dares. “I’m not a coward,” she growled.

 

Alya gave her a sideways smile. “You’ve got to admit that Chloe does sort of have a point, you are too scared to join Nerve after all,” she said with a shrug. Marinette glared at her best friend, but the glare failed to effect Alya in anyway.

 

“You too Alya? I thought we were friends!”

“It’s just, like you always say to me, ‘it’s just a bunch of stupid dares,’ so really what’s the harm in playing? Come on, I dare you,” Alya said.

 

Marinette angrily pulled out her phone and mashed the buttons until she pulled up the home screen of the game. “You want me to play so badly? Fine, I’ll play,” she yelled as she smashed her finger onto the player option. She didn’t even read the rules as she signed up.

 

_ Ladybug has joined Nerve on March 3rd 2017. _


	2. Not just another face in the crowd

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She pulled out her phone and read her dare, it didn’t seem that bad. At least it wasn’t that bad compared to some of the dares Alya and Nino had received. It wasn’t even that hard of a dare when she thought about. 
> 
> Kiss a stranger for 5 seconds.

As she walked into the bar with Nino and Alya at her side she couldn’t believe she was doing this. She wondered if it was too late to just give up and go home. However, she knew that if she did Chloe would only mock her more. She hadn’t even gotten a dare yet but Alya and Nino insisted that it wouldn’t be long until she was given one.

 

They were greeted by the loud screams of bar patrons and the stench of alcohol. The music pounded against the walls, the pings of gaming machines. There were people everywhere, she just barely managed to avoid losing her friends in the sea of them. However Alya stood out like a sore thumb against the crowd. Her hair that blended from brown to orange and her glowing shirt with a wifi symbol. Whenever anybody saw that shirt they knew they were looking at LadyWifi. She’d always known that Alya had a big following on the Nerve scene but until she saw this sea of partiers make way for them she had never realised the extent of Alya’s fame. These people treated her like a goddess.

 

She felt confidence shrink under the gaze of all these strangers, to them she was still a nobody. She was just another face in the crowd, she blended in like a shadow in he darkness. However she knew that as soon as she completed whatever her first dare was her anonymity would vanish. 

 

Somehow over the volume of the bar she heard her phone go off with the familiar taunting tone that often went off on Alya’s phone. It was an annoying recording of a child laughing, sort of like the kind of thing you’d hear in a horror movie. Even without checking her phone she knew what the tone meant. She’d had to run after Alya enough times when her phone played the same tone to know what it meant. It meant she had a dare. 

 

She pulled out her phone and read her dare, it didn’t seem that bad. At least it wasn’t that bad compared to some of the dares Alya and Nino had received. It wasn’t even that hard of a dare when she thought about. 

 

_ Kiss a stranger for 5 seconds. _

 

Alya looked over her shoulder and read her dare. Alya’s face merged into one of a born matchmaker and honestly Marinette felt a little scared by it. Alya was always trying to set her up with people, it never worked out. However she didn’t expect Alya’s next question.

 

“What do you get if you complete the dare?” she asked over the volume of the bar. She turned to her in confusion.

“I thought you just got money for completing them,” she responded in her confused state.

“Yeah but how much money?” 

“One hundred? I get one hundred just for kissing a stranger?” she honestly hadn’t expected to be able to get that much, it wasn’t even that hard of a dare. 

“Yeah, so come on girl we’ll find someone and then you can get your money. Maybe I can even put my matchmaking talents to the test,” Alya told her with a suggestive wink.

 

She knew what that wink meant and wanted none of it, she didn’t want to be subject to another one of her attempts to pair her with someone. The pairings had never ended well. She handed her phone over to Alya with the instruction to film the dare for her. Alya just smirked at her, “go get em,” she said with a giant smile. Somehow Alya’s encouragement lifted her mood and gave her confidence. 

 

As she walked around the bar with Alya on her tail she began to doubt herself. She didn’t want to lead anyone on while completing the dare, and she feared that they might react badly when they found out she wasn’t serious. She tried to push down her doubts but couldn’t, she was scared. She scanned the faces of the crowd in an attempt to find someone who looked like they wouldn’t mind or someone who would understand. 

 

Most of the people there didn’t appeal to her, they were either with somebody, too drunk or looked like they would have a less than favourable reaction. Blonde hair, brown hair, flourescent pink hair, nameless face after nameless face she still hadn’t found someone who she thought would be willing to let her. Sparkly dresses, leather jackets, cool hats, still nobody.

 

Then her eyes fell on a boy with stellar blonde hair. He was dressed in a cat suit with a bell on the zip that he’d completed with a pair of cat ears. His hair was spiked presumably to give him ‘an edgy’ look. She figured with an outfit like that that he had to be a player of the game but something about him drew her towards him. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach as she stared at the boy. She felt like she was on cloud nine just looking at him. He would be the stranger she’d kiss she decided. As she began to walk towards him, the butterflies in her stomach fluttered so quickly that she felt like she might be sick. She didn’t know why she felt this way, she didn’t even know the boy, she didn’t even know his name yet she felt like her heart might emplode just by looking at him. 

 

He turned around and she became lost in his eyes. She wasn’t sure if she was lost in their beauty or their strangeness. The sclera of his eyes was lime green, and the inner eye was a darker shade of green, like a forest. His eyes were unearthly, unnatural. They looked like they belonged on a cat yet surprisingly they suited him. They looked so sad, she just wanted to pull him into her arms and tell him that everything would be ok. 

 

She tried to shake away the feelings, she didn’t know a thing about him. He was just a means to an end in completing the dare. However, something drew her to the boy with the sad eyes. She wanted to at least try to be his friend, if nothing else, friends. She hadn’t even realised that she was now standing directly in front of him. His head was tilted to the side as he looked at her in confusion.

 

Before she could talk herself out of it she grabbed him by the bell attached to his zip and pulled him into a kiss. His eyes were wide with shock at first but slowly he relaxed and embraced the kiss. His lips tasted sweet against her own. She felt him relax and melt into the kiss. What surprised her most was that he never tried to take over the kiss or push it further. He didn’t even try to pull away he just let her kiss him. 

 

Slowly she broke off the kiss, her eyes locked on the ground unwilling to meet his. How could she meet his eyes, she hadn’t even asked him if he was ok with her kissing him. Cautiously she looked up and saw him smiling at her with a small smile. She knew it was meant to let her know that he was ok with it but she panicked. She turned on her heels and ran. She disappeared into the crowd to just hopefully become another nameless face. 

 

“What was that?” Alya asked in frustration. She knew that she wasn’t frustrated at her for the kiss, it was for her actions afterwards. 

 

“I didn’t even ask him, what if he hates me. I should never have done this,” she exclaimed, her explanations panicked and frantic as she spoke. 

 

“Well he doesn’t hate you,” she reassured her. 

“How do you know?”

“Well he wouldn’t be coming over here if he hated you,” she said with a laugh. 

 

Marinette frantically turned around trying to find the green eyes in the crowd. She found them easily and saw that he was walking towards her with Nino on his heels. Nino appeared to be holding a phone and using the camera to follow him. He got to her and smiled at her before giving her a dramatic bow.

 

“Would you care to dance m’lady,” he asked. She could’ve sworn that her heart had stopped beating. His voice sounded so smooth and sweet, it sounded almost innocent. He hadn’t tried to raise his voice above the music or shout he’d simply asked. His hand was out for her to take, how could she not take it. She smiled as she took his hand.

 

“I’d love to dance.”

 

As he lead her out onto the dance floor she heard Alya’s very audible squeal of excitement behind her and saw him wince at the volume. If she hadn’t been used to Alya’s antics she probably would’ve winced as well. She tried to focus on the music in the background but couldn’t place it over the volume of the people. Every footstep echoed loudly and drowned out the music. 

 

The dance was rather awkward, it became obvious to her that he wasn’t really sure how to dance. His hand held hers but he didn’t know what to do so just moved in time with the music. She realised that she’d have to take the lead. She smiled at him as she took his wrist and spun him like men often did to women in the movies.  However, she had failed to remember that she was one of the clumsiest people alive. As she spun him she lost her balance and fell to the floor taking him with her. She froze in shock as the music continued around her, mocking her. The other people in the club continued to dance around them completely oblivious to the two people now on the ground. 

 

The boy got up and brushed himself off. She looked away from him embarrassed at what had just occurred. As the music blazed on around them she was sure that he must’ve left. There was no way a boy as hot as him would stick around after she’d made such a fool of herself. She groaned and placed her head in her hands. She felt like a failure.

 

She lowered her hands from her face and looked up to check that she wouldn’t hit anyone when she got up. Her eyes fell on gloved hand. She looked up from the hand and saw that the cat boy was still there. He offered her a small smile. She took his offered hand, sparks flew when their hands touched. A giant blush crept onto her cheeks as he pulled her to her feet. She was sure that at this point her cheeks were as red as the costume she’d donned. 

 

They stood still and just stared into each other’s eyes as the music continued in the background. Marinette couldn’t hear it anymore as she was once again lost in his eyes. She heard the words of the song ‘we found love in a hopeless place’ in the background but they were muffled to her. She felt his hands lightly touching her shoulders, it felt like rain trickling down her skin. The warmth of his touch trickled down her shoulders and gradually spread throughout her body. She was sure that underneath the ladybug suit she was a beet red as the suit was. 

 

He smiled at her, his smile seemed like the sun shining after months of darkness. She felt herself drawn to his smile like a moth to a flame. Her body was running on autopilot and was slowly leaning into his. Just as their lips were about to meet he moved away and flashed her an apologetic smile. He grabbed her wrist and spun her with the grace of a professional dancer. 

 

When she spun back into him he took hold of her wrists. She thought for a second that he was about to place them on his shoulders like people did as they slow danced. Suddenly he slipped and fell over backwards. She rushed over to him to check if he was ok only to find him smiling brightly up at her. He was lying upside down on his back with his limbs in the air. 

 

“Need some help?” she asked as she offered him her hand.

He laughed. “m’lady did I ever tell you that you turn my world upside down?” he joked as he took her offered hand and used it to pull himself to his feet. She laughed at his attempt at a joke and mentally noted that he was a jokester. 

 

Once on his feet he gently placed her hand on his shoulder. She stared at him in confusion before he placed his around her waist. She got the memo and wrapped her arms around his neck. Due to their height difference she had to look up for her eyes to meet his. He was smiling at her as he waltzed them around the room despite the fact that a waltz really didn’t fit the song at all.  She leant her head into his well built chest. She jumped back in shock as she heard the jingling of a bell. She then remembered the bell that was attached to his jackets zip and laughed at herself before leaning back into his offered warmth. She was so close that she could feel his breath on her. 

 

The song began to become unmuffled in her senses and she heard as the song played it's final run of the chorus, had they really been dancing that long she wondered. The final line played but she still didn’t let go and neither did he. She didn’t really care though, she just cared about the boy that she was latched onto. She didn’t even know his name yet but she didn’t want to let him go.

 

They continued their dance throughout the next song, and the next. They finally broke apart when I love you like a love song began playing. She smiled dopily at him, a smile which he happily returned. He took her by her wrist and began to lead her outside past Nino and Alya. They both quickly grabbed their phones and were given an encouraging thumbs up by their friends. He lead her outside of the club.

 

Outside the music was muffled and barely able to be heard, much like it had been for her during their slow dance. Instead of the scent of sweat and too much alcohol the putrid smell of rubbish lingered in the air. It was almost impossible to see so she was stumbling behind him blindly as he lead her away from the club. 

 

Finally he came to a stop and his piercing green eyes looked into her blue ones. His eyes appeared to glow under the moonlight, a sight which amazed Marinette. She was distracted from his eyes when he took in a deep breath and his smile faded. He bit his lip like he was about to say something important before he shrugged it off. His goofy smile returned and he held out a hand for her to shake. 

 

“I’m Chat, Chat Noir.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok because Adrien's dare was never stated his dare was just to dance with her because it was in my first draft of this chapter. This chapter was originally quite different but I like this version of it better than my first draft so this is the version I posted. Also before anyone asks they are legally allowed to drink. Adrien hasn't been to school in this universe so this chapter is Marinette's first time meeting him. I debated whether or not to have her fall for him in this moment but then my shipper heart couldn't resist. I have a lot planned for this story though so :)
> 
> I'll see you guys next chapter, tell me what you think and kudos and stuff :) :)


	3. I'm not asking for forever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Please stay,” she requested.  
> “I can’t stay furever,” he said with a smirk.
> 
> “I’m not asking forever,” she said. “Yet. I’m just asking for a moment.”

“Chat Noir?” she repeated. He nodded.

“What’s your real name though, like I may be Ladybug on Nerve but my real name is Marinette.”

 

He bit his lip as if about to tell her something. He then broke out into a massive dorky grin as he knelt down and kiss her hand. “I’m sorry Marinette but that is classified information.” He gave her a flirty wink and she could only stare at him dumbly.

 

“Why though?” she blurted out. 

“I have my reasons,” he said with a smile. She stared at him to try and find the answers within his eyes but he gave nothing away. Those stupid beautiful green eyes that before now she’d never have believed they could belong to a human being. 

 

“What’s up with your eyes?” she questioned as she gazed into them. His eyes that seemed unreal, how could eyes like that even be real. 

 

“I was born with them, they’re pretty cool huh?” he answered, his response sounded oddly rehearsed. She wasn’t even sure if he was telling her the truth, after all to be born with eyes like that there was no way he could be human. His eyes were otherworldly and she was trapped under their spell, all she could do was stare into them. They didn’t convey honesty as he told her, they conveyed nervousness, like you’d expect from someone telling a lie. 

 

“You don’t believe me, do you?” he asked. The question surprised her, had he been reading her mind? No that’s impossible, yet so were his eyes. 

 

“Yes,” she admitted.

 

“Nobody ever believes me, but trust me Marinette, they are real.”

“So I take it your eyes are why you chose the cat theme?” 

 

He looked away at that. His expression shifted in seconds from the happy carefree one he wore to one of apprehension and sadness. She could’ve sworn that she’d seen fear flash across his eyes but no sooner than she’d seen it, it was gone. His gaze had become locked on the ground rather. 

 

“Did I say something wrong?” she asked worried. What had caused the sudden shift in his emotions, did the cat theme really mean that much to him. Maybe it dug up bad memories she wondered, or maybe it was something about cats that made him react this way. 

 

“No, you didn’t.” He told her with a sense of finality. His tone was flat but the words were said with no room for argument. “It’s just a sensitive subject,” he whispered.

 

“You don’t have to tell me, if you don’t want to,” she stuttered out frantically. She didn’t know why she’d been so frantic to reassure him that he didn’t have to tell her but she was. She’d only just met him but something in her couldn’t bare to let him go. 

 

He took his eyes off the ground and met hers. He looked so touched at her words that she felt like she might cry. His eyes glistened under the moonlight but the joy they’d portrayed during their dance didn’t return to them. 

 

“I- I can’t tell you, I’m sorry,” he said apologetically.

“It’s okay,” she told him sincerely. He smiled at her words and pulled her into a hug. The sudden warmth of his skin on hers startled her at first but she gradually relaxed into the hug. His clothes despite appearing to be leather felt so soft under her touch and his warmth made her feel calm and happy. She felt like they were two parts of a whole and this was how they fit together. It wasn’t like pieces of a puzzle fitting together, it wasn’t perfect. It was better than that. It was an imperfect mess. 

 

When he let go, she longed to pull him back into the hug. She longed to hold him in her arms again. His eyes seemed brighter now and his smile had returned. 

 

“Why’d you choose the name Ladybug Marinette?” he asked her abruptly.

 

“To be honest, I don’t know,” she admitted. She’d only signed up for the stupid game to prove a point. She’d only signed up to get Alya off her back but now that she thought about it, why had she chosen the name ladybug? It had to have been more than a choice made in the heat of the moment. She thought back to her alias, why ladybug. Why?

 

Ladybug’s had no deep meaning to her, they were just another beautiful animal that lived in the world. She never even really thought about ladybug’s not even when she spent hours trying to come up with a design, ladybug’s would never come to mind, so what had lead her to the name. Maybe she’d chosen it to give her luck, after all she was notoriously unlucky in her everyday life, she was so clumsy that it was basically a curse. 

 

“I think that maybe I chose it to give me luck,” she said.

“Well you did get pretty lucky then, you met me,” he joked. 

“Yeah, so I guess so,” she said as she ran her fingers through her hair and twirled one of her pigtails around her hand. 

 

She didn’t want to admit it to him or herself but she feared that she might be falling for him. Her heart kept skipping beats whenever she met his eyes. She was just barely managing to keep her words from becoming a stuttery mess as her brain got away from her mouth. She didn’t want to admit it, but in that moment she knew she couldn’t let him leave. Whether she loved him or not, she couldn’t lose him.

 

“I’ve got to go princess,” he told her suddenly. 

“Please stay,” she requested.

“I can’t stay furever,” he said with a smirk.

 

“I’m not asking forever,” she said. “Yet. I’m just asking for a moment.”

 

He smiled at her words. His hand went up to her cheek and stroked it. She could feel the claws of his gloves on her cheek, it didn’t hurt. His touch was soft and caring, he made sure that the claws wouldn’t break her skin. Her hand went up to touch his but he took it in his other hand and lowered it back down. He let go of her hand and his now free hand went to her other cheek.

 

Slowly he pulled them closer and closer, she could tell he was moving slow so that she had the chance to pull away if she wanted to. She didn’t though, she wanted the closeness he was offering. She wanted to feel his lips on hers and that’s just what she received. She knew it sounded cliche but when their lips meant it felt like fireworks were exploding in the sky. 

 

He tasted sweet. She never wanted the moment to end. She didn’t want the feeling of his hands on her cheeks to stop, nor the intimacy of his lips on hers. Her heart swelled up in her chest and she knew it, in that moment she knew for certain, she loved this alley cat. She’d only just met him yet she loved him. 

 

When he pulled away he was smiling a nervous smile. She could practically read his thoughts of ‘does she hate me,’ the internal mantra he was telling himself that he’d made a mistake. He hadn’t though, she’d loved the kiss, she’d loved the feeling of his lips on her own, if anything she was upset that it was over. 

 

“I really do have to go, until next time princess,” he said with a mock salute. He ran off into the darkness and she watched as his body disappeared into the night. The only evidence of his presence was a piece of paper he left behind that had his number on it. She smiled as she read the paper. 

 

“Until next time Chat Noir, she whispered into the starry night. The sky had faded from blue to the darkness of the night and she couldn’t help but smile. He’d only been in her life a few hours but she knew how she felt, her heart fluttered just thinking of him. A stupid smile was stuck on her face even when Alya and Nino came to find her. She was still smiling when she went to bed that night, and when she fell asleep. She knew that the moment they had shared was worth more than forever. It was a moment that she would remember forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly this chapter was one I found that I'd already typed up on my laptop and has had no editing done to it so if you find any mistakes let me know. I didn't want the story to take place just over one night so hence the parting of ways, don't worry it won't last long, they'll be back together fairly quickly. Also before anyone tells me it was out of character for Marinette to reveal her identity, she's only been at this like an hour and she has nothing riding on it while Adrien has everything riding on it or at least in his mind he does. 
> 
> I offer a virtual high five for anyone who knows where the ""I'm not asking for forever," she said. "Yet. I'm just asking for a moment."" quote comes from. :) 
> 
> Alright tell me what you all think and kudos and that jazz, I'll see you next chapter :)


	4. Sounds purrfect

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 'How about L’arc Cafe? Also what’s wrong with using a lot of smileys?'
> 
> This time she texted back very quickly. 'Sounds great, how about 10am tomorrow? and there's nothing wrong with smileys I just wasn’t expecting it, tbh if I’d expected the emoji things I’d have expected cat ones (that does not mean send cat emojis)'
> 
> He laughed at her last comment. If she expected cat emojis he’d do one better. He smiled to himself as he typed back his response.
> 
> '10am sounds purrfect to me purrincess. I’ll CATch mew then :3'

He sat alone on his bed in his cramped apartment. He could still remember a time when he’d dreamed of leaving the mansion for a simple apartment like the one he now lived in. Now that his past dream was a reality he wondered why he’d ever dreamed it. He knew realistically that if he were under different circumstances then he probably wouldn’t feel such resentment to his small apartment. It was incredibly basic, it only contained a bed, a kitchen, a desk and a bathroom. He didn’t need much more than that but it still was rather disappointing. He liked the fact the apartment was small and comfy even if it was cramped, but every night as he stared up at his ceiling he felt homesick.

 

He never would’ve thought that he’d miss the Agreste mansion, it had always been too big and lonely since his mother’s passing. It had been full of memories of lost love and loneliness. Yet now he longed to be able to return to his former home. He didn’t know what he missed about it. His father’s smile of approval when a shoot went particularly well? The memories he’d shared with his mother and father? Maybe he just missed his father. He wanted to go home but he couldn’t. Every time he considered packing up and leaving his apartment to return to his former life he remembered the threat to his friends and family. The threat that kept him from going home.

 

The same threat had been why he’d left Marinette alone under the stars. He’d felt himself already getting in too deep the second blue eyes had locked onto his own green ones. He was afraid of her getting caught up in his troubles too. Since he’d been stuck in the game he’d made a vow to himself to not get attached to people, to not form friendships. In his mind friendships meant danger, not for himself but for his friend. He tried to avoid them but Nino had been the exception, could he make another one for Marinette?

 

He’d barely known her a day and he already knew he cared deeply about her. When he’d seen her on the dance floor he swore his world quite literally lit up. He swore that the lights had glowed brighter and the music had grown louder. Then when she spoke his heart skipped a beat. When their lips had locked that’s when he’d realised she wasn’t like the rest, she was amazing. She was kind, she cared. He’d panicked and tried to get out of there, he didn’t want her to get caught up in his life but at the same time he didn’t want to lose her. He wanted her to at least be his friend, he’d just try his hardest to keep her from the danger that radiated off him like rays from the sun.

 

He was startled out of his thoughts by the sound of his phone loudly going off.  _ “Miraculous, simply the best, up to the test when things go-”  _ he opened the phone before the song could continue. He loved the song, somehow it gave him hope. The number which had messaged him was an unknown one but as soon as he read the text he knew who had sent it.

 

_ Hey Chat, do u wanna meet up for coffee tomorrow? _

 

He smiled at the text. Out of every person she was the first other than Nino who was trying to stay in contact with him. He never really counted Chloe, she only used him as a game piece. To her he was just a piece in the puzzle that would lead her to success. She pretended to be his friend but he knew better. Underneath her semi-pleasant mask lay a viper, a viper who wouldn’t think twice about poisoning you if it benefited her. Nino had been his first real friend.

 

He’d met Nino when he first became Chat Noir, quite literally. On his first day as Chat while he’d been desperate to find somewhere to go he’d run into his now best friend. He’d been the only person who’d talk to the weird cat boy who’d been wandering the streets lost. He’d offered to help, he’d offered to be a shoulder to cry on, he’d offered to be a friend. Adrien had said yes in a heartbeat, ever since they’d been best friends. Nino was the only person that knew his secret identity, the only person who knew he lived in the Parisian catacombs. Nino never asked why, he never judged him for it and he loved that about him. Every time they met up it was like he was just any other person, around Nino he wasn’t Chat Noir, around Nino he could be himself.

 

Now here Marinette was actually bothering to text him. He hadn’t expected her to try, he hadn’t thought he’d been very memorable, yet here she was, trying. It brought a smile to his face. Just as he was about to type a response another text came through.

 

_ It’s Marinette btw _

 

He laughed at that. He’d already known that but he still found it amusing that she’d texted to tell him. His fingers flew across his phone's keyboard as he typed his response. 

 

_ I guessed that :) anyway I’d love to meet up again. :D _

 

He sent his text and sat back to wait. As he waited he decided to check out her Nerve profile. Every time he met another player of the game he wanted to warn them as to the dangers the game caused but could never find the words. He wasn’t sure what stopped him warning people, perhaps it was fear of being found out by the game’s creator and the threat to his family and friend, or perhaps he could just never find the words. The only video on her profile was the one of them dancing that was filmed shakily by someone in the background. She’d only signed up the day before that. He sighed in relief, she still had time to get out. 

 

He still wished that he’d had a chance to get out of the game but life was cruel that way. He hadn’t even gotten a choice in joining the game. If you were to ask anyone else they’d assume that he’d chosen the name Chat Noir because he simply liked cats, or maybe even the cat ears or eyes. The name he’d chosen meant so much more than simply a love of cats. He’d chosen the name Chat Noir because he felt like a black cat. Across history there were mixed reactions to black cats, most places thought them to be unlucky but others thought them to be lucky. 

 

Before he’d taken up the alias he’d been thought to be the luckiest cat in the world. He was the son of a rich fashion designer, everyone would think he was lucky. However beneath the surface he was far from lucky. In most places black cats were unlucky, that was what he felt he was. He was unlucky. Especially when it came to Nerve. He’d lost his mother to the game, and now he’d lost himself to it. The game brought nothing but bad luck into his life, so why wouldn’t he choose Chat Noir as his alias for the game? Chat Noir, the black cat.

 

_ Where do u want to meet? Also u use a lot of smiley faces _

 

He laughed at her response. He liked using smiley faces in his texts, somehow it always made him feel just a little bit happier to type the smiley on the end of the text. He was surprised that she was leaving the cafe choice up to him, especially given he didn’t know many cafes. Come to think about it he didn’t know many places to get food full stop. While playing Nerve made sure he had some money he tried to avoid spending it. It wasn’t rightfully earned in his opinion, he didn’t want to use it for things that were luxuries. 

 

_ How about L’arc Cafe? Also what’s wrong with using a lot of smileys?  _

 

This time she texted back very quickly.  _ Sounds great, how about 10am tomorrow? and there's nothing wrong with smileys I just wasn’t expecting it, tbh if I’d expected the emoji things I’d have expected cat ones (that does not mean send cat emojis) _

 

He laughed at her last comment. If she expected cat emojis he’d do one better. He smiled to himself as he typed back his response.

 

_ 10am sounds purrfect to me purrincess. I’ll CATch mew then :3 _

 

He smiled with the knowledge that he’d see her again tomorrow. Sure people would stare at him weirdly, they always did. He never knew what it was but they did and he’d grown used to it. The amount of times someone had screamed “Chat Noir” while he’d been out shopping for food though was laughable. Somehow his persona had become quite popular in the Nerve universe leading to him having a lot of fans, however they were all great and never bothered him. That much couldn’t of been said for the fangirls he’d had as Adrien Agreste, man he couldn’t go out alone without being swarmed. He could remember 3 separate occasions when fangirls had kidnapped him, none of them had been fun. 

 

Marinette however wasn’t being his friend because she was a fangirl. She wanted to be his friend and that meant the world to him. He was practically bouncing with excitement. He didn’t know if he could even wait until 10am the next morning, he knew himself he’d probably arrive at 7am and bounce in his seat until she arrived 3 hours later.

 

_ Those puns are infinitely worse than cat emojis. I’ll see u at 10, night Chat. _

 

He tried to think of a pun to send back to her. What should he make it about, cats? No he already made cat puns today. Night? Maybe? Perhaps sleep, he had some good sleep jokes from hours of google research he still remembered. What if she wasn’t going to sleep though, then the pun would lose all meaning. Night pun it is, he thought. What was a good night pun he could send her? There were so many good puns, puns are great.

 

_ Good Nightrogen m’lady I’ll see you in the mewning. :3   _

 

Her response came in seconds.  _ STOP WITH THE PUNS THEY AREN'T FUNNY. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this is up earlier than usual but it's friday NZ time and I'm bored so I decided I might as well update this. This chapter was originally longer so I separated it into two parts. So that meant that this chapter ended up with not a lot happening sorry about that. Ok I'm going to shut up now, I hope you enjoyed it anyway :) I'll see you guys next chapter, tell me what you think and kudos and stuff :) :)


	5. Eiffel for you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She was amazing. That was the only thought that was going through his mind. After being alone and down for so long she’d come into his life and lit it up like a lightbulb in the 18th century. How could she do that and not be amazing? She was funny, cute and nice. Then he realized what had happened, he had fallen for her. He couldn’t fall for her. He had to distance himself he reminded himself. Yet he was tired of trying to distance himself, he just wanted friends. He just wanted to be normal, what was normal about being on the run.

When the cafe opened Adrien was already there ready to go inside. He was practically vibrating due to both his nerves and excitement, perhaps that’s why the waitress who lead him to the table had stared at him like he was an alien. Actually, it was probably his ears and eyes, everyone usually at least glanced at him weirdly because of them. He didn’t know why he felt so nervous and excited to see her, she was just a person. A person he’d just met, a person who didn’t know who he was. He just wanted her to accept him, to be his friend. 

 

He knew that he liked her the second he met her, she was kind and beautiful. His heart skipped a beat everytime he thought about her. Her bluebell eyes were engraved in his mind. Her eyes were almost as supernatural as his own, her eyes were so blue it was like being captured by the ocean and drowned in it. He knew he loved her, he loved her with all his heart but he didn’t want to embrace it. He was afraid, what would the creators of Nerve do if they found out? Would she just end up as another pawn in their game? 

 

He sat on his phone researching what was going on in the world. The minutes ticked by and the bustling of people in the cafe increased. The sounds of chatter around him sparked to life and the heat of coffee and other hot drinks filled the atmosphere. He could feel people's eyes on him and the odd brush of someone’s skin against his own. He tried to tune it all out as he focused on his phone but failed miserably. He couldn’t focus on anything.

 

_ Where are you? _ He texted her. He stared at his phone as he waited anxiously for her response. What if she changed her mind? What is she wasn’t coming? What if she’d been hurt? He tried to calm his fears for her, there was still 10 minutes before their meeting time. She was probably on her way.

 

_ Someone’s excited. There’s still 10 minutes until our meeting time. _

 

He looked at the message and felt a little bit sheepish. He was probably being stupid being there so early and expecting the same from her.  _ I’ve been here for over an hour...... _

He knew she’d likely laugh at the text but he sent it anyway. Her response came through seconds later.

 

_ Silly kitty. How am I supposed to know who u r? _

 

He laughed as he typed out his response.  _ Do you know anyone else with cat ears? Like really purrincess, how many people have cat ears and green eyes like mine? _

 

_ Alright chaton, I’m at the counter ordering coffee btw. _

 

He looked over at the cafe’s counter and scanned for a girl who looked like Marinette. In the darkness, it had been hard to see her clearly and he knew that she was unlikely to be dressed in ladybug attire like she had been the previous night. Then he spotted her, only thanks to her black hair highlighted with blue streaks. It stood out against the sun. Like the night before her hair had been pulled back into pigtails that rested on her shoulders. 

 

She turned around with her coffee in her hand and approached him. He smiled as he watched her approach. Her white shirt with a flower pattern, her jacket tied around her waist, her surprising choice of pink jeans, all of it suited her perfectly. He wondered if he just thought so as he was the son of a famous fashion designer. However, nothing she wore was a match for her smile and her eyes. 

 

Her eyes were like bluebells, they shimmered in the sun and were honestly beautiful. Her smile lit up the room for him and brought a smile to his face. All of his nerves were forgotten as he simply stared at her like a lovestruck teenager. She sat down across from him and set her coffee on the table.

 

“Hi,” she said sweetly. 

“Hi,” he responded dumbly.

 

“You don’t have a drink,” she said abruptly. He looked at her in confusion, what did it matter if he didn’t have a drink, he thought. She was looking at him expectantly. Shit. 

“I-” he began. He couldn’t think of anything to say, he was lost in the bluebell of her eyes. He could’ve sworn that he was smoother than this, yet he couldn’t even think of an excuse as to why he didn’t have a drink. She’d probably think it was weird if he blamed money or said he was waiting for her. 

 

“I didn’t feel like one,” he said. She stared at him with a calculating gaze but didn’t comment. He sighed in relief at her lack of response. 

 

“So, do you wear the ‘Chat Noir’ costume everywhere?” she asked as she gestured to his clothing. Damn, he really wished she hadn’t dropped the drink thing now. He really didn’t know how to explain his situation to a girl he just met, nor did he want to. He had no clue what the consequences would be if he did. 

 

“I like it,” he said with a shrug. He wondered if it was obvious that he was lying, or that the subject line made him uncomfortable. He shifted awkwardly in his seat and fidgeted with his hands. He hoped that she didn’t see through his mask of dismissiveness he wore on the surface. All she’d have to do was notice his nervous body actions and he’d be caught out. Keep it cool, do as Elsa says Adrien, conceal don’t feel, don’t let it show..... 

 

“There’s more to it,” she said.

 

Damn, it showed. 

 

“I- I would flirt with you but I’d rather seduce you with my awkwardness,” he said as he tried to change the subject. She stared at him in confusion at the randomness of his subject. He was a little confused himself as to why he’d chosen to flirt with her as goto to way to get out of talking about it. 

 

She laughed. Her laugh was beautiful to him, like music to his ears. As cheesy as it sounded, the mere sound of her voice made his entire world light up. “Are you French? because Eiffel for you.”

 

He stared at her for a second before responding. “You do realise that we are in France right now? I am talking to you in French with a French accent....” he tried to make it sound serious but couldn’t help the laughter that interjected itself in his words.

 

“I- i- France is language love, I croissant, baguette, magnifique!” 

“Alright?” he said with an awkward laugh. 

 

She was amazing. That was the only thought that was going through his mind. After being alone and down for so long she’d come into his life and lit it up like a lightbulb in the 18th century. How could she do that and not be amazing? She was funny, cute and nice. Then he realized what had happened, he had fallen for her. He couldn’t fall for her. He had to distance himself he reminded himself. Yet he was tired of trying to distance himself, he just wanted friends. He just wanted to be normal, what was normal about being on the run. 

What was normal about his life?

 

“So ‘Chat Noir,’” she said the name like it was a lie which in reality it was, “what do you do when your not Chat Noir?”

 

He debated with himself what to tell her. Did he tell her the truth? Would she run if he did tell her, would she pity him? Yet what lie could he make up that would ensure she wouldn’t worry. She looked at him expectantly as if she just expected him to spill all his secrets to her. He almost wanted to. He couldn’t find the courage though. He hadn’t had the courage to tell Nino about the game situation, how could he tell her.

 

He opened his mouth the tell her something, to warn her, but no words would come out. Naturally, he recovered by making up the most bizarre story he could think of. “Well you see LB, I am actually an alien from the planet Plagg. So when I’m not playing Nerve I am off kidnapping humans to sacrifice to the planet’s god Tikki.”

 

She looked at him with a calculated gaze, as if she were choosing her next words very carefully. “Are you actually an alien?” she asked, her voice completely serious.

 

“No princess, I’m as human as you are.”

“Who said I was human?” she said with a smirk.

“Are you?”

“I am but still,” she said with a laugh.

 

Before even of them could say another word an alert sounded from both of their phones. In sync like dancers in a choreographed dance, they pulled out their phones and opened Nerve. When he read the dare he wasn’t particularly sure how he felt. It wasn’t anything new for him but he could only imagine how nervous she had to feel beside him. Something that to him was second nature probably seemed like a daunting task to her, however, he knew he had to go through with the dare, no matter how dangerous. He opened his phone and read the dare.

 

_ Go to the Eiffel tower without touching the ground. _

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this was a bit late I've been sick lately. Honestly again not much happens but hey next chapter there's a dare (mostly because I really wanted to write them jumping across rooftops). I don't really know what to write about this chapter I just hope it was good and that you all liked it so tell me what you think :) I'll see you all next chapter :)


	6. Jump

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Go to the Eiffel tower without touching the ground

Marinette didn’t know what to think of the dare when she read it. How the hell were they supposed to get to the Eiffel tower without touching the ground? She stared at Chat, he didn’t appear phased by the dare. In fact, he appeared almost excited by it. His eyes lit up upon reading it a smile spread across his face. Within seconds he had jumped up on top of the table. She laughed at his action. He offered a hand to her, she took it and climbed up to join him on the table.

 

“How are we supposed to get there?” she asked him. She assumed that he had a plan given he had jumped onto the table so abruptly.    
“Well, we have no way of getting there by ground, so obviously we take the high road,” he said with a smile wide on his face.

 

She wondered what he meant by the high road. It sounded like a dumb expression to her. She tried to figure out if it was a pun or if he was being serious, yet if he were serious what did the high road even mean. Last time she checked there was no road in the sky that lead to the Eiffel tower. Then suddenly realization hit, by the high road he meant going by rooftop, it was the only thing he could’ve meant. She stared at Chat in confusion as she realized. She knew that they weren’t that far from the tower but what he had proposed sounded dangerous.

 

She had never been building jumping in her life, and with good reason. Jumping between the buildings was something that people did on TV shows not in real life. She knew that there was no other way to actually complete the dare as they could not touch the ground meaning that there was no way to go via the streets. It just sounded so dangerous to her, who the hell jumps across rooftops? 

 

“I’m clumsy, I’ll fall,” she said anxiously. She knew she was clumsy, she had managed to break her arm trying to do a flip in gymnastics. She could barely go a day without falling over and that was on the ground. On the ground, if her clumsiness hit she knew she’d be fine, the ground was safe. She couldn’t hurt herself too badly if she fell on the ground and even if she did help wouldn’t be too far off. On the rooftops, however, that was a different story. If she fell she would be far more likely to hurt herself. She felt panicked as she thought about it more and more. She could feel a cold sweat trickling down her skin as her breath began to pick up in tempo. She would’ve begun hyperventilating if it hadn’t been for Chat’s hands on her shoulders grounding her.

 

“I’ll catch you,” he promised. His eyes were fixed on her and she could see no hint of a lie in his eyes. She had barely known him 24 hours but she could tell that he would sooner sacrifice himself than let her fall. She knew that she would be safe in his hands. It helped to quench the fear but it didn’t completely go away. He was probably just as inexperienced with building jumping as she was, the dare was too dangerous for the both of them to manage. 

 

“I know you will. I’m scared,” she admitted. He gave her a sad smile and nodded. 

“I know you’re afraid, it’s okay to be scared. You don’t have to go through with it, you can back out, I won’t think any less of you. Just know that it’s your choice, you don’t have to go through with the dare. Even if we end up just before the final hurdle, you can still choose to back out, it’s okay to be afraid Ladybug.”

His words comforted her, she didn’t know why. They made her feel slightly braver like she could complete the impossible. She straightened her back with confidence and smiled at him.

 

“Let’s do this thing,” she said with a smile that spread across her entire face. He brightened even more and leaped across the tables in the cafe beckoning her to catch up. The customers were less than amused when they leaped onto their tables and the wait staff was very annoyed with them. How they got out of the cafe she hadn’t really processed, she had just copied his every move and suddenly she found herself climbing up a fire escape towards a rooftop. How she’d gotten onto it was still a mystery to her.

 

He climbed the fire escape incredibly quickly. If she hadn’t been watching him she would’ve sworn that it was impossible for him to climb that quickly. She felt super slow by comparison. However, she wasn’t reckless like him, she took it slow. She watched her every step to make sure that she wouldn’t fall. She had to hope that her clumsiness would not catch up with her and cause her to fall. When she finally reached the top she saw him sitting there and smiling at her. 

 

“How the hell are you so quick,” she asked him in amusement. 

“Years of practicing rock climbing,” he answered with a cocky smirk. She realized in that moment that she really did know nothing about him. She would never have guessed that he rock climbed and she probably wouldn’t have believed it if she hadn’t seen his climbing skill for herself. He was so easy to talk to that she felt like she’d known him her entire life and had forgotten that they were in fact just strangers.

 

“You ready,” he asked her as he pulled out his phone. She shook her head, she was so far from ready. How could she prepare herself to jump across buildings with a phone in her hands? Her entire body shook as her fears came down on her like an avalanche. 

 

“Hey, you don’t have to go through with it if you don’t want to. However, I know that if you want to you can do it,” he said as he offered her a reassuring smile. She scratched the back of her neck with one hand as her other hand played with the hem of her shirt. The first part of his sentence was lost on her, she had to prove a point. She had to prove to her friends that she could also play Nerve, even if it got her killed. She knew she was being stubborn and quite honestly stupid but she didn’t care even as fear overwhelmed her. She had to prove her point, whatever that had been. 

 

She was about to question the second thing he had told her when he began to speak again. Somehow his hands found their way to her shoulders and gripped them reassuringly. “You’ve got this Ladybug, I believe in you, you’ve just got to believe in yourself. Can you do that for me?”

 

Despite the fear that dwelled within her stomach she felt her face heat up at his words and a smile broke out on her face. She nodded despite herself. However, despite his reassurance that he trusted her she still felt worried. The dare was dangerous and one wrong move could send either one of them spiraling into the ground, possibly even to their death. She tried to push the fear out of her mind and instead focused in on him. He had his phone out and videoing now, of course, Nerve’s rules and all. She pulled her phone out and began to video as well. She wasn’t sure how she felt about jumping through the air with a phone in her hand though but when she saw his smile she felt like maybe it would all be okay.

 

“Do you want to go first or shall I,” he asked as he gestured to the edge of the rooftop. The edge they would have to jump off so that they could get to the next one. There wasn’t even a hint of fear in his expression, how could he not be afraid. She wondered if perhaps he went building jumping a lot, it wouldn’t surprise her she didn’t know much about him. Hell, she didn’t even know his real name.

 

“You go first,” she told him. He nodded and backed away from the edge. For a second she saw a flicker of fear flash across his face but within seconds it was gone. He charged towards the edge of the building so quickly that she feared he would forget to actually jump. However he did, he jumped. She ran closer to the edge of the rooftop in time to see him land with a perfect roll on the other rooftop. 

 

She gaped at him from where she stood on the other side of the rooftop. How the hell had he done that with the phone in his hand. There hadn’t even been a moment's hesitation, he hadn’t feared jumping he had just simply done it. “You coming?” he asked with a wave in her direction. 

 

“You’re crazy,” she laughed as she moved away from the edge of the building. This whole thing was crazy she thought to herself, was she really going to jump onto another building. She didn’t even know if it was a jump she could land. The only reason she knew how to even land a jump was because of years of school gymnastics. Her feet began moving without her consent. They moved faster and faster until she was full out running. Panic spiraled through her mind as her feet continued to move. Despite his reassurance that he would catch her if she fell, or his reassurance that she would make it she still feared she wouldn’t. She feared she would miss the jump and plummet to her death for all of Nerve to see. 

 

Her feet propelled her off the building and through the air as she filmed awkwardly on her phone. She managed to land with a roll like he had, however, her roll was far less graceful than his had been. She got up to see that he had been intently watching her. “I told you that you could do it,” he said as he congratulated her on her one successful jump. 

 

“It’s not fair, you’re like an acrobat or something,” she joked.

 

“Try superhero LB,” he said with a playful smirk. He didn’t wait for a response before he ran towards the next building and flipped through the air, phone and all. She was surprised that the cat ears didn’t fall off his head due to the action. She couldn’t believe his recklessness, jumping between the buildings was hard enough as it was and he’d done a freaking flip. How he’d managed to both land it perfectly and film it on his phone she didn’t know. The one thing she did know was that when she saw the flip her adoration for him grew.

 

She wondered if beneath the mask he was an acrobat or something. His flips had such fluidity and were so graceful that it was entirely possible. Chat was a mystery to her. The boy who refused to tell her his real name, the boy who wore a mask to cover his face. He could rock climb, he could flip and he could dance. He had grace as well as charm but at the same time, he had a terrible sense of humor. She had known that the second she read his puns. She could help but wonder who Chat Noir was beneath the mask. Who was he really?

 

She’d been so distracted by her thoughts that she hadn’t noticed him jump onto the next building, and then the next. She rushed to follow him while filming her jumps on her phone. She put much less thought into her jumps this time and just focussed on catching up to him. She didn’t notice as her fear began to fade the more she jumped. She was nowhere near as graceful as him, she didn’t flip she just tried to jump the distance without dying. However, she couldn’t deny the thrill she felt while in the air. It was the same feeling she got when she looked into his eyes, she felt like she was flying like she was on cloud nine. 

 

She caught up to him pretty quickly, mostly because he’d stopped to wait for her. He beamed at her as she landed beside him. His phone was in his hand and he was saying something to it that she hadn’t caught. 

 

“Hello again m’lady, isn’t it purrfect weather for a flight across the city,” he joked as his grin widened at the pun. She resisted the urge to facepalm.

 

“Puns seriously?” she asked with an annoyed look.

“I happen to think that puns are clawsome!”

“Stop.”

“Why, do they BUG you?”

“Chat.”

“Are they really so pawful?”

“Chat please.”

“Fine, I’ll stop.”

 

He smiled at her as he lead her to the edge of the building. She blindly followed in confusion. He gestured out to the city skyline and she had to admit it was an incredible view. It wasn’t the same as being on top of the Eiffel tower but it was a close second and having him by her side made it even better. Paris glowed under the sunlight which had been so rare lately. It was nice to see it without the layer of cloud that often covered it. 

 

“Why are you showing me this,” she found herself asking.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” that was all he said about it. She didn’t try asking further and he didn’t elaborate. They turned around and she saw that the were within reach of the tower but there was no way for them to get to it. They were out of buildings to jump across, the only way across now was to go via trees which seemed like a recipe for disaster. 

 

She thought through any way she could get the two of them to the tower now as he sat on the edge and stared out at the horizon. She looked at the streets below in a desperate attempt to come up with an idea when suddenly she spotted what appeared to be a dream come true. An unattended motorbike with the keys in the ignition was right there within reach, it could get them to the tower. However, it was stealing, it was so very wrong. 

Suddenly Nerve went off again on her phone and she checked it. It was a simple sentence yet it sent ice down her spine.  _ Steal the bike for $12000.  _ That was a lot of money she thought to herself. Yet stealing was wrong, so very wrong. Yet was it really stealing if she gave it back, she could always just quickly borrow it and give it back before it’s owner noticed. 

 

“I have an idea, get on that bike,” she said to him as she pointed down at the bike she meant. He climbed down the building and did so without protest. She had to admit that he was far faster climbing up than he was down but he was still fairly quick. It shocked her that he had not even so much as questioned her before he jumped onto the bike. She went down to the bike as quickly as she could and before she could put too much thought into it. She started up the bike and began to race towards the tower. 

 

“I didn’t know you owned a bike,” he said in surprise. She didn’t want to tell him the truth so she just kept quiet as she drove them to the tower. The instant they got there both of their phones beeped to tell them that the dare had been completed. He celebrated as he jumped off the bike onto the ground, she, however, did not. Her dare about stealing the bike had also beeped to tell her it had been successful but her heart still pounded in her chest as she dismounted the bike. She lead Chat away from the scene towards the ticket booth. Maybe they could just climb the tower and forget about it all if only she could be that lucky. Both of their phones went off again with the same telltale ringtone. They already had another dare.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry there was no chapter last week I ended up really busy and also had a bit of a lack of inspiration writing wise but I am back now. I'm not sure how I actually feel about this chapter I feel that I did rush the ending of it but aw well. Marinette needs to work on her life choices and Adrien is just so oblivious. Anyway, I will try and have the next chapter up next Friday but no promises as I haven't actually gotten inspiration for it yet but I will get it up as soon as I can. I hope you did enjoy this chapter even if I am not entirely happy with it. I'll see you all next chapter :) tell me what you think and stuff.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed that chapter, there's more to come :) I'm going to aim to update this story every Friday (NZ time cuz that's the time I'm running on). Tell me what you think of the story and kudos and all that :) I'll see you next chapter.


End file.
